Antonelli: “I entered a negative spiral” while battling his mid-season slump

Written by Kavi Khandelwal

Antonelli, who became the third-youngest driver in F1 history when he debuted for Mercedes in 2025, admitted that the introduction of a new suspension system created a significant hurdle for him, unlike his teammate George Russell.

Credit: Formula One

"Oh yeah for sure many times I think, you know, since we went on the new suspension I struggled quite a lot, especially to adapt. George on the other hand, you know, despite we lost performance with the new suspension, George was able to adapt and I struggled quite a lot more and I just entered in this, you know, negative spiral where I was just, you know, it felt like it just kept getting worse and worse and frustration was just getting over."

The Mercedes driver confessed that the resulting lack of competitive results prompted him to question his abilities. "I think my darkest moment was Spa probably. And definitely I've been doubting myself a lot because obviously seeing the result not coming, then you just start to ask yourself if you're good enough. And so it wasn't easy."

To break this negative cycle, the Italian took proactive steps to reset his focus, a key moment that has since been linked to his dramatic upswing in form towards the end of the season. "That's why also I did a big meeting with the team after Monza and I did a big reset mentally and just tried to refocus on the important stuff, on the process, and that really helped and that was a big learning as well."

Antonelli's resurgence has seen him become the highest-scoring rookie in F1 history in his debut year. His recovery after the summer break has been marked by three podium finishes—a P3 in Canada, a P2 in Brazil, and a P3 in Las Vegas.

Reflecting on the season, Antonelli highlighted that overcoming these challenges was a crucial learning experience that improved his mental approach. "Well, there's many things that I've learned in the season, but definitely I've learned, definitely what I understood a lot better about my needs on the track, off track, but as well on the mindset. I think having the right mindset before going to a session is crucial."

He emphasized the importance of focusing on how to achieve success rather than just the final outcome. "Having the focus on the right things, on the important things, and not just focussing on the final result, just focussing on how to get there."

Antonelli concluded by saying the difficult moments were instrumental in his personal and professional development, setting him up for future success. "I grew up a lot during the season. I became more mature, especially overcoming the difficult moments really made me grow and now I can handle situations better. Of course, there's room for improvement, but we're on the good trajectory so far."